Do You Want To See Shorter Heroes In Romance Books?
Friday, November 18, 2005Posted in: Uncategorized
Normally I’d post a review seeing as it’s a Friday, but I’m emotionally wrung out. I’ve just read Linda Howard’s Cry No More, and if you look closely enough, you’ll still be able to see the tracks of my tears. (*g*).
I’ll post the review of Kate’s Somebody To Love, and Somebody Wonderful when I’m feeling more up to it.
So, Charlie Horse has an interesting entry over at his blog. He wants to know where all the short heroes are at.
Hopefully, they’re locked away in a dungeon somewhere waiting for the next adaptation of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.
Seriously, my opinion is that I would much rather not have short heroes in my romance thank you very much. Totally ruins the fantasy element.
There are some genres where you could have a short hero (Children’s books such as Winnie The Pooh maybe) but for Oprah’s sake, don’t inflict a vertically challenged male on me. I don’t think Linda Howard’s Wolf Mackenzie would have had the same kind of impact if he’d been a short-arse, do you?
So, what do you think? Do you like the idea of having shorter heroes, or like me, are you totally against it. No fence-sitting allowed!
Jennifer
November 18
9:13 pm
No short men. No.
And Cry No More? I see the stain of your tears. Wasn’t it wonderful? Gut-wrenching. I read that book shortly after the birth of my son. Almost didn’t; because I didn’t know if I could handle it. Was a beautiful, heart-twisting book.
Eve Vaughn
November 18
9:23 pm
Well I guess I can see it working only if the woman is pint sized too, but then I’d start to wonder what else is pint sized. 😉
Lisa
November 18
9:27 pm
NO SHORT MEN!!!!
Lori
November 18
10:17 pm
6 foot at least. ALthough, being only 5’3, it makes certain… positions… a bit awkward. LOL
Nicole
November 18
11:00 pm
Um, just not shorter than me. but I’m 5’1″…husband is 5’10″/5’11” and that’s quite tall enough. I mean, he can already put his chin on my head with no problem, don’t need any taller.
Dramedy Girl
November 19
12:50 am
I just want them taller than the heroine…even in heels. 🙂
HelenKay
November 19
2:00 am
I’m sorry but I want my heroes tall, dark and handsome. Really, what’s next? Heroes with acne scars? With male-pattern baldness? This is fantasy. Heroes need to have a certain look – maybe not classically handsome but definitely compelling in some way. Wolf MacKenzie is a good example of what I mean. Love him.
Ann Wesley Hardin
November 19
2:39 am
Then there’s moi *gg*. I LOVE short men. Always have. Find them heart-poundingly attractive. It’s all in the way they move, but of course, they have to be built too. And smart. And all the things a romance hero is otherwise.
The hero in my current WIP is short – about 5’9″, so I guess I’ll have a few angry readers. But I don’t care. This is the book and the hero of my heart. Everyone who’s read it has fallen in love with him the moment he hits the page (he’s a secondary in Miss Behavior, out in December as part of EC’s White Hot Holidays).
So, why not give it a try? You never, ever know…
It’s also a paranormal *gg*
Rosie
November 19
4:54 am
Hmmm…how short? ; ) I have a similar situation as Nicole. I’m 5’3″ and guy I live with is 5’10”. I’ve seen stories where description would match a similar height difference and because I think my guy is the perfect height for me…I was okay with it.
OTOH, on the whole, the fantasy is the *ahem* big part of reading romance novels…so tall is always my expectation.
And just mentioning Wolf Mackenzie makes me shiver. Mackenzie’s Mountain is the only romance I’ve read at least 5 times!
Sam
November 19
8:59 am
Most actors are pint sized –
and damned sexy.
(On screen) they probably have to stand on wooden boxes.
Give me a tall hero anyday. (Thinking Jeff Golblum style body.) Oh. My. God.
Desiree Erotique
November 19
8:41 pm
I prefer them tall!
Dawn
November 20
12:07 am
Well, I prefer to read about tall heroes. I have read a romance with a hero who was just slightly shorter than the heroine, but I can’t think who it was by. The guy was man enough to cope with it though and it didn’t detract from the story for me.
Charlie Horse
November 21
11:13 pm
Only in the romance world would a guy who is 5’9 considered to be short ann. lol.
But it is ladies prerogative in the romance world so it appears this debate is closed 🙂
maven
November 26
10:43 pm
I don’t mind a hero shorter than the heroine, but I’m not talking Billy Barty here either..not more than a few inches.